This invention relates to a pacifier for infants that will allow them to satisfy non-nutritional sucking needs without causing nipple confusion. More specifically, the pacifier of the present invention replicate the shape, structure, and consistency of the human female breast in order to create a device that stimulates the correct oral motor skills that are needed for breast-feeding.
The majority of women in the U.S. and other countries begin by breast-feeding their newborns. The benefits of breast-feeding are well established and fairly uniformly accepted by much of the general public as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics and World Health Organization.
The increase in breast-feeding awareness has lead to much research and recommendations to enhance the effectiveness and benefit of breast-feeding. Some of this research has been directed toward the subject of artificial nipples used with breast-feeding infants.
One problem that has been identified relates to nipple confusion. Generally, this problem is a result of two separate sucking actions learned by an infant due to the use of pacifiers or bottle nipples that differ from the female breast. In particular, infants become accustomed to the mouth, lip and tongue position required for breast-feeding that cannot be used when using today""s common pacifiers. Unlike nursing, when using the common pacifier, the nipple collapses under the pressure from the infant""s mouth and the infant cannot bring the nipple back in its mouth and onto the soft palate. Thus, the infant who is accustomed to the oral motor skills and mouth position used with breast-feeding, becomes confused and frustrated by the artificial nipple.
It has been well established by the American Academy of Pediatrics that supplements and pacifiers should be avoided, whenever possible, and if used at all, only after breast-feeding. The LaLeche League International has reported that babies sucking motion differs from bottle to breast. Hence, nipple confusion can take place if the baby receives artificial teats, such as bottles or pacifiers when trying to nourish from the breast using the same jaw and mouth motions that he uses with the artificial teat, or vice versa.
It is also known that infants need a varying amount of non-nutritive sucking to sooth and comfort themselves. Infants who are given artificial nipples for non-nutritive sucking needs will not be able to soothe and comfort themselves if the nipple cannot replicate the natural oral motor skills used in breast-feeding.
The infant mouth is not a miniature of an adult. A newborn has a set of sucking pads in the cheeks which provide stability during sucking. The palate forms the roof of the mouth; it consists of two portions, the hard palate (palatum durum) in the fort, the soft palate (palatum molle) behind. The soft palate is fibromuscular tissue located in the posterior one-third of the oral cavity. More specifically, the soft palate is a movable fold, suspended from the posterior border of the hard palate, and forms an incomplete septum between the mouth and pharynx.
Obviously, this is unnatural when compared with the positions and oral motor skills used when nursing. No pacifier has attempted to replicate the oral motor skills of infants by correct mouth positioning that is needed when breast-feeding. In breast-feeding, the infant""s mouth is held open by taking in the nipple as well as a large area of the mother""s areola. Further, the infant""s lips are flanged out, the tongue rests over the bottom gums, and the nipple is drawn back to the soft palate. These positions and sucking actions are not used at all with standard pacifiers.
The invention is a pacifier for infants designed to replicate the anatomical structure, consistency and feel of the human female breast.
The pacifier of the present invention includes a flexible body structure which is fabricated from a pliable material. The flexible body structure is formed into a modified bell-shaped configuration with a main body portion and a nipple portion extending from an end thereof. This bell-shaped configuration is attached to a somewhat rigid base to allow easy handling and to help maintain the proper pacifier configuration. In this configuration, the pacifier is capable of acting like the female breast when placed in the mouth of an infant. This invention will be filled with a non-toxic material that will prevent the nipple from collapsing when the infant sucks and will provide a firm, widening surface at the outer portion. Using a two piece construction, the structure will prevent the infant from pursuing its lips around the end of the nipple where it inserts into the plastic mouth piece, and will encourage correct oral motor skills for breast-feeding infants. This invention will have an appropriate construction that allows the infant to pull the nipple onto the soft palate of its mouth. In one embodiment, this construction is a single wall of sanophrene with appropriate wall thickness to create the desired elastic characteristics. In an alternate embodiment, a double wall construction will be used to obtain these elastic characteristics.
It is an object of this present invention to simulate the natural shape of the human female breast, being structurally firm yet pliable in an infant pacifier, to replicate the necessary mouth positioning at the breast and oral motor skills used in breast-feeding.
Another object of this invention is to simulate the structure and consistency of the human female nipple versus the standard bellow nipple pacifier.
Another object of this invention is to provide a pacifier which is made of a resilient non-toxic material, durable in construction, inexpensive to fabricate, and simple to manufacture.
The embodiment discussed will comfort the infant, simulate the needed oral motor skills, decrease the chance of nipple confusion in breast-fed infants, and allow new parents to feel confident in providing their newborn with an artificial nipple when needed without interfering with breast-feeding.